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WhatsApp on ConnectGain — Lite & Cloud

A complete guide to the two WhatsApp channels available in ConnectGain. Use this as source content for landing pages, sales decks, and onboarding material.

At a Glance

WhatsApp Lite WhatsApp Cloud (Official)
Powered by Appgain WhatsApp gateway Meta WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)
Setup Scan a QR code with your phone (2 minutes) Embedded Signup via Facebook + Business verification
Best for SMBs, agencies, fast go-live, sales outreach, warming numbers Mid-market & enterprise, branded support, high-volume verified messaging
Phone number Any personal or business mobile number Dedicated business number registered with Meta
Templates needed? No — free-form messages anytime Yes for messages outside the 24h window
24h customer-care window Not enforced Enforced by Meta
Green tick / verified badge Not available Available after Meta business verification
Sending limits Soft limits, ramp via warming Tiered: 1K → 10K → 100K → unlimited / 24h
Cost model Flat subscription, no per-message fees Meta conversation-based pricing + platform fee
Compliance risk Higher — unofficial channel, ban risk if abused Low — fully sanctioned by Meta

WhatsApp Lite

The fastest way to put a real WhatsApp number into a shared team inbox. No Facebook Business Manager, no template approvals, no waiting.

Key features

  • QR-code pairing — connect any WhatsApp number in under 2 minutes from Settings → Channels.
  • Shared team inbox — multiple agents reply from the same number with assignment, internal notes, and read receipts.
  • Free-form messaging — send and receive messages anytime, no template approval required.
  • Rich media — images, videos, documents, audio notes, location, contacts, and stickers.
  • Bulk campaigns & broadcasts — schedule one-to-many sends through the broadcast composer.
  • Number warming — built-in warming campaigns gradually ramp activity to protect new numbers.
  • Link shortening — automatic per-recipient short links with click tracking.
  • Sequences (drip campaigns) — multi-step outreach with dynamic variables and unsubscribe handling.
  • Bot flows — visual builder deployed to n8n; numbered-menu fallbacks for universal compatibility.
  • AI auto-reply — Gemini-powered RAG agent answers from your knowledge base with zero hallucination.
  • Delivery & read receipts — full status sync (SENT / DELIVERED / READ / FAILED).
  • Media persistence — every inbound/outbound media file re-hosted to secure storage so links never expire.
  • Multi-number support — connect unlimited WhatsApp Lite numbers per workspace (sales, support, branches).
  • Webhooks & API — push inbound events to n8n, Zapier, Make, or your own backend.
  • Sentiment & auto-tagging — AI classifies intent and tags contacts automatically.
  • Translation — one-click translate inbound and outbound messages across 12 languages.

When to choose Lite

  • You need to launch today without Facebook verification.
  • You run outbound sales / cold outreach where templates would slow you down.
  • You operate multiple numbers per team and want flat pricing.
  • You want to test WhatsApp as a channel before committing to Meta onboarding.

WhatsApp Cloud (Official Meta API)

The fully sanctioned WhatsApp Business Platform, hosted by Meta. Built for brands that need verification, scale, and compliance.

Key features

  • Embedded Signup — one-click Meta onboarding inside ConnectGain; we provision the WABA and phone number for you.
  • Manual System User connection — for partner WABAs that don't appear in the wizard.
  • Green-tick verification — eligible accounts can apply for the Official Business badge.
  • Approved message templates — submit, edit, translate, and reuse templates across markets.
  • Dynamic template variables — fully personalised body, header (image / video / document / location), and CTA buttons.
  • Interactive messages — reply buttons, list pickers, single/multi-product messages, flows.
  • 24h customer-care window — automatic detection; the UI nudges you to use a template when the window closes.
  • Tier-based scaling — automatic Meta limit upgrades from 1K → 10K → 100K → unlimited unique recipients / 24h.
  • WABA health monitoring — live status of business verification, account review, template namespace, and per-entity send eligibility.
  • Auto token refresh & re-connect — background token-health checks; channels auto-deactivate and notify admins before failure.
  • Conversation-based billing visibility — see Meta categories (Marketing / Utility / Authentication / Service) per conversation.
  • Catalog & commerce — product messages, single & multi-product, with Shopify and custom catalogs.
  • Click-to-WhatsApp ads — receive ad-referral context on the first inbound message for attribution.
  • Comment-to-DM — automatically (or manually) move a Facebook/Instagram comment into a WhatsApp Cloud DM where supported.
  • Historical sync — back-fill recent conversations on connect via the unified channel-sync-history job.
  • End-to-end encrypted in transit, with media re-hosted to your private storage bucket.

When to choose Cloud

  • You need the green tick and verified business identity.
  • You run high-volume utility or marketing notifications (orders, OTPs, reminders).
  • You require enterprise compliance (Meta-sanctioned, full audit trail).
  • You're scaling beyond what Lite's soft limits comfortably allow.

Shared capabilities (both channels)

Every feature below works identically across WhatsApp Lite and WhatsApp Cloud.

Unified inbox

  • One inbox for WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Shopify Inbox, Email.
  • Conversation assignment with slots → online → round-robin workload balancing.
  • Human takeover pauses automation at the conversation level.
  • Reply-to (quoted messages), reactions, typing indicators, voice notes.
  • Internal notes, mentions, and team-only threads.
  • Snooze, close, reopen, and bulk actions.
  • Per-user channel access controls.

CRM & automation

  • Auto-create / match contacts by E.164 phone number with strict normalization.
  • Auto-tag, auto-assign, and trigger deals from inbound messages.
  • Task automation engine with 24h-window-aware actions.
  • Sequences with timezone-aware scheduling, opt-out enforcement, and PBKDF2-secured unsubscribe links.
  • Bot flows with AI intent classification (Gemini 2.5 Flash) and voice agent nodes (ElevenLabs).

AI

  • RAG-powered auto-reply trained on your docs, products, and FAQs.
  • Conversation analysis — sentiment, summary, next-best action.
  • AI re-engagement for stale conversations with anti-spam pacing (30s–10min jitter).
  • Translation across 12 languages.
  • Speech-to-text for voice notes (Gemini 2.5 Flash).

Analytics & monitoring

  • Per-channel volume, response time, FRT, resolution time.
  • Per-agent performance (excludes Owners/Admins/PMs from agent reports).
  • Inbox health dashboard with provider-vs-insertion latency.
  • Webhook DLQ with automatic retry cron.
  • Sentry-backed error monitoring with PII scrubbing.

Security & reliability

  • HMAC-verified webhooks with constant-time comparison.
  • Multi-tenant Row-Level Security on every table.
  • 30-day JWT sessions for mobile reliability.
  • Media persisted to private storage; provider URL expiry handled automatically.
  • 24h-window guard prevents non-template sends from failing silently.

Decision helper

Pick WhatsApp Lite if you want to launch today, send freely, run outbound sales, or operate many numbers on flat pricing.

Pick WhatsApp Cloud if you need the green tick, verified branding, high-volume utility/marketing, or full Meta compliance.

Use both — Lite for sales & outbound, Cloud for branded support & transactional notifications. ConnectGain unifies them in the same inbox, CRM, and automations.

CTAs for landing page

  • Primary: Connect your WhatsApp in 2 minutes → onboarding → Channels → WhatsApp Lite.
  • Secondary: Get the official Meta API → onboarding → Channels → WhatsApp Cloud (Embedded Signup).
  • Tertiary: Talk to sales for enterprise WABA migration.

Last updated: 2026-06-12.